The Portland Trail Blazers will head east to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Blazers-Hornets prediction and pick.
Carmelo Anthony led Portland to a 123-111 victory against the Hornets in the first head-to-head matchup between these teams this season. Both teams have been reeling of late and each will need a big win to get their season back on track. Can Charlotte finally snap their current four-game losing streak at home against the Blazers?
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Blazers-Hornets odds.
NBA Odds: Blazers-Hornets Odds
Portland Trail Blazers -5 (-110)
Over 221 Points (-110)
Under 221 Points (-110)
Why The Blazers Could Cover The Spread
The Portland Trail Blazers have lost five of their last eight games and desperately needs a big win against a depleted Hornets team. At 32-23, Portland currently holds the sixth spot in the Western Conference standings. The Trail Blazers have to know the importance of not dropping anymore as the seventh seed will be part of the first ever play-in tournament in May. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have played well this season, but will have to further elevate their play to climb the standings.
Portland possesses one of the best back courts in basketball with Lillard and McCollum. The two lethal scorers currently average over 50 points combined and lead the fifth-best offensive unit in the Western Conference. The Blazers are averaging 114.6 points per game on 44.7% shooting from the field. Portland shoots 38% from three and will have a great chance to score in bunches against a Hornets team that will be missing virtually everyone. The Hornets are one of the more injured teams in the league and have been reeling of late.
Why The Hornets Could Cover The Spread
The Charlotte Hornets will carry a four-game losing streak into this affair with the struggling Blazers. Charlotte currently has a hold of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and has seen their stock plummet over the past few weeks. The Hornets have responded quite poorly to the absence of both LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward. It doesn’t help that P.J. Washington, Malik Monk, and Devonte Graham will all be out against Portland as well. Charlotte will desperately need to find scoring in other areas.
The lone bright spots on this team of late have been Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges. Rozier is averaging 20.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this season. Bridges is averaging 2.9 made three’s and 18.2 points over his team’s last 10 games. These two will be in a nice spot to shine against a Portland team that allows opponents to shoot over 46% from the floor. The one thing that has remained constant for this team is their defensive prowess. The Hornets have allowed their opponents to score just 108.8 points per game on 46% shooting.
Final Blazers-Hornets Prediction & Pick
If Damian Lillard were fully healthy, we'd be laying the points with Portland. He is the man for the Blazers and it's tough to predict what this team would be without him. One thing that we can always lean on Portland for is their ability to score the ball. They are one of those teams out west that just seems to score in bunched. Charlotte has wavered against the total, but the over is a strong play here against a team that will come into their building and likely shoot at a high rate. Eight of the last 12 head-to-head matchup's between these two teams in Charlotte have gone over the total.
FINAL BLAZERS-HORNETS PICK: Over 221 Points (-110)
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